Whether Feast Or Famine Series

Slide 1

As we began planning for fall, one tool we used was reviewing where we had been. We look for gaps what remains lacking in a balanced biblical diet. So on screen, you see our last nine years of sermon coverage of Genesis through Kings. The colors represent the different years. We are best served by being sure we cover Ruth.

Admittedly, Ruth is not a book we think of often. For one, it is short - only 85 verses long. Second, unlike other Old Testament history, there are no spectacular events or miracles. There is simply less direct mention of God's activity compared to other Old Testament books. Finally, while every Old Testament book anticipates Jesus Christ, it's difficult to see Ruth pointing ahead to Jesus until later in the book.

But we would be mistaken to think Ruth is not part of God’s salvation narrative. God preserved it for our reading today. The earlier chapters reveal how God works through the daily circumstances of our lives. We call this activity God’s Providence. The Heidelberg Catechism, grounded in Scripture, answers two questions about Providence.

Slides 2 and 3

Slides 4 and 5

So, if your patience is wearing thin today because things seem against you... If God's activity seems distant in your life and the future looks bleak, the book of Ruth offers hope because God’s providence reveals his extensive Sovereignty today over all of life. With that, let’s read Ruth

Read Ruth 1:1-14

Slide 6

The unknown writer of Ruth reveals an important link. The timeline for the book of Ruth coincides with the timeline for the book of Judges. We expect the common theme of Judges to show up in Ruth. The theme of Judges repeats: "There was no king in Israel during the period of the Judges, and everyone did as they saw fit.”

It was a dark time in Israel’s history. The cycle of sin and relief repeats itself.

• Israel would fall into grave sin,

• God would deliver them into the hands of their enemies,

• Israel would cry out to God for relief

• And then God would send them a judge to offer relief.

• Instead of a Judge, Ruth 1 is an illustration of how God uses the consequences of sin for his greater salvation plan.

Yet, God’s activity is less obvious in Ruth 1. God is operating behind the scenes in Bethlehem. Slide 7

Today, we know Bethlehem as the City of David. Matthew and Luke record the extensive details of Jesus birthplace. But before David’s time, Bethlehem was known as Israel's breadbasket. Its rich grainfields and fertile soil supplied Israel and animals with food. But evident from God’s actions in earlier stories, a famine struck. Ultimately, there is little wheat left in the house of bread. God uses this moment to impact the lineage of King David and ultimately Jesus Christ.

So what are families doing to survive? Like America’s dustbowl, they abandoned their homes and moved elsewhere. Patterns like this aren't new. We see this already in the Bible's patriarchs like Abraham and Jacob and later his sons when they moved because of famine.

Slide 8

From here the details focus in on one family. Elimelech’s family is on the move. In a day and age when Israel has no king, Elimelech’s name means “GOD IS KING”. His wife is named Naomi. Her name means "Hesed" or "God's pleasantness". They leave the City of Bread for Moab. They take with them their two sons Mahlon and Killion. Note their figurative names. Mahlon means sickness. Killion means the end of the line. The meaning of names is not to be taken lightly. Polar opposite characters of their parents' names. We are left with no insight - aside from the possibility that it may have been a sign of the times.

In Elimilech's eyes, God’s Promised Land no longer held promise for his family - only death. But then, Naomi is left a single parent with two sons when Elimilech dies, leaving her a widow. Moab, which Elimelech looked upon for life, becomes for Naomi a place of death. But it grows worse.

Slide 9

Mahlon and Killion illustrate the pattern of Judges where everyone did what was right in their own eyes. They ignored God's laws and married outside the Jewish line. Two marriages God considered sinful unions. Their lives are cut short. It wasn't long before Mahlon and Killion both died.

But now our attention turns to the wives. Their Moabite wives are Orpah and Ruth. Orpah means “back of the neck” or “head turned backwards”. Whereas Ruth means “a devoted companion.” The meaning of their names reveals to the reader a stark character difference between them. Though it goes unmentioned, Naomi and her two daughters in law are grieving their losses.